Otafest debriefings REDUX: Auxiliary factor

ADVISORIES:
ALL DEBRIEFINGS PUBLISHED BEFORE JUNE 2014 ARE OUT OF DATE.
There is a zero-tolerance policy in effect for this blog.
This blog post uses pictures. Click on one to see a larger view.

This post assumes you've read all previous installments (click here to see them). Click "read more" to begin, or select a chapter.

AF-1: Introduction
AF-2: Another 2016 pin update
AF-3: More autographs, 2016
AF-4: Conclusion

AF-1: Introduction

In the July debriefing, I said "I doubt [I'd] even be going" to Otafest Aurora. But on Sept. 10 at Otafest Pocket, when they announced that Stephanie Sheh would be a guest, I knew I had to go, since she was someone who's had roles in more recent shows I watched.

However, as this picture may imply, based on what I had, I focused on her role as Yui Hirasawa from K-On!. Granted, I put together similar images two years ago, but that's not all that happened.

However, before I get to the things I had autographed, let me show you the pins I got since the last mini-pin update.

AF-2: Another 2016 pin update

Not only did I get some official first-party Otafest pins between September and November, but I got two other pins at around the same time. Here's one of the other pins.

Chinook Crafts Orange O-Wing

This pin is by Chinook Crafts, an Otafest vendor/sponsor. This design was only meant to be given to the Otafest Pocket cosplay fashion show participants on Sept. 10, but I think they ended up with extras; someone I know in the Otafest staff gave me this.

Chinook Crafts has a web shop here, by the way. I do also have a Mario star pin of theirs.

Pumpkin O-Wing (?)

The theme of Aurora 2016 was centred around the story Cinderella. Since a pumpkin was used as the carriage in the story, I think they went with this maroon (dark red) design.

Cinderella Aurora

Turning the order around for once, here's the Aurora pin this time around. A "storybook style design" was used for this and the next pin, and I think it's all right. Featuring Aurora in a pink dress, a midnight clock in the corner and a stylized castle in the background, this pin reads "dreams come true" at the bottom.

Fairy Godmother Seph

Here's the Seph pin, using the same style. It features her in a white dress and some pumpkins around her, and reads "bibbity bobbity boo".

On a related note, I did meet up with Seph and Aurora for my usual private recordings. However, I could only meet up with them individually due to the use of no-cameras-allowed restricted areas, plus the fact I was caught off-guard several times. Earlier though, I did meet up with Mio and Vari after I'd resolved the freakout situation back on Sept. 10, but that's neither here nor there.

And here are the three pins I got centred around the Cinderella theme for this Aurora. But there's one more first-party pin:

5 Year Anniversary [Aurora]

It can be a bit confusing, but for Otafest Aurora's 5th year in existence after the winter spinoff's rebranding, they came up with this pin of Aurora's head in a more regular style. We've come a long way since the darkness of 2012, haven't we?

Akuma Homura pin

Speaking of... darkness, this is the second of the two other pins: a pin of Homura's spoilery-incarnation I got at a Madoka Magica-themed panel that was held at 9:00-10:00 pm. It was given after a round of Jeopardy! the panelists held.

If I were to say how I already have an Ultimate Madoka pin that I made at an old U of C Stress Less event, I'd probably go off on an Opposition/Resurrection-related tangent, and it's a mashup crossover I cancelled in April 2016, full of late arrival spoilers and personal issues that I want to leave alone for now.


I currently do not have the proper space to lay out all my first-party Otafest pins, so let's move on to the autographs.

AF-3: More autographs, 2016

This time, I actually brought items to have signed, although for satisfaction's sake, I had the two voice actors, Stephanie Sheh and Eric Stuart, sign the Otafest Aurora guidebook cover, too. More details below.

Aurora 2016 guidebook cover.

Stephanie Sheh's autograph on the guidebook.

Eric Stuart's autograph on the guidebook.

Onto the anime items I had the voice actors sign.

K-On! season 1 (Bandai) cover.

A closer look at the autograph.

Previously featured in Chapter 9 of the Otafest debriefings REDUX, here's the cover of K-On! season 1's "Anime Legends" release by Bandai Entertainment. As stated there, I got this in May 2012 after waiting out for this full-season release, and I finally got to have Stephanie Sheh autograph it.

K-On! The Movie cover.

A closer look at the autograph.

Also featured in Chapter 9, here's the cover of K-On! The Movie, as released by Sentai Filmworks in May 2013. I know it takes place at the end of season 2, but I'm limited to what I have.

Pokémon: The First Movie VHS cover.

A closer look at the autograph.

A long, long time ago, before the re-releases for Pokémon's 20th anniversary, my family got some of the Pokémon movies on VHS. All this time later, I got to have Eric Stuart sign these two, since I knew he voiced Brock and James in this show from childhood. Admittedly, I thought I had to deal with a scheduling conflict for the morning's autograph sessions, but I managed to get into both of them.

Pokémon 3: The Movie VHS cover.

A closer look at the autograph.

My family did have the second movie at some point, though that was given away to a family member elsewhere. It probably wouldn't have worked as well, since a character named Tracey replaced Brock temporarily at that point in the story. So I had the third movie signed instead, since both Brock and James were in it.

AF-4: Conclusion

At this point in time, no further local Otafest events have been announced between January and late June/early July. No guests for 2017 have been announced as of yet, either, so it's going to be a tough decision for me as to whether I'd decide to go back as quickly.

All I can say right now is that despite some minor failed tasks on the spot, the Otafest Aurora outing was a victorious success. I managed to get autographs from both voice actors as early as possible... and I did manage to get some private recordings as usual.

You can expect me to have some hesitant reservations between now and next summer, as despite me resolving the freakout situation, certain online posts might still put me on edge. But my messy random Twitter, @superslinger07, should keep you posted, so keep track of that.

And that is all for this debriefing. Thanks for reading, and, as Aurora says, even I hope I'm doing well.

End of debriefing.

Yui Hirasawa model for MikuMikuDance by Kakomiki.
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